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Tea is very inexpensive but it may have more benefits for cognitive health than many expensive drugs. If you are at risk of Alzheimer’s, pay attention to this article.

By Dawn Flemming

Tea is one of my favorite drinks and it is one of the widest and longest medicinal beverages in human history. Tea is known to help fight cancer, autoimmune diseases and even heart disease.

What is lesser known is that green and white teas are also know to have protective effects against mental decline, particularly when it comes to diseases like Alzheimer’s.

In one important study, it was found that daily consumption of tea protected the elderly from cognitive decline. Take a look here at what it says:

The longitudinal study involving 957 Chinese seniors aged 55 years or older has found that regular consumption of tea lowers the risk of cognitive decline in the elderly by 50 per cent, while APOE e4 gene carriers who are genetically at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease may experience a reduction in cognitive impairment risk by as much as 86 per cent.

The interesting thing here is that the consumption of tea doesn’t seem to be tied to green tea only, but all teas have benefits. However, since green tea and white tea have more polyphenols, it is natural that their effects would be more than black tea which has less.

He added, "Based on current knowledge, this long term benefit of tea consumption is due to the bioactive compounds in tea leaves, such as catechins, theaflavins, thearubigins and L-theanine. These compounds exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential and other bioactive properties that may protect the brain from vascular damage and neurodegeneration. Our understanding of the detailed biological mechanisms is still very limited so we do need more research to find out definitive answers."

Tea is very inexpensive yet its benefits outweigh some of the most expensive drugs out there. Studies show that people can drink 1 to 5 cups a day and see the benefits of tea. Green and white teas should be brewed at about 180 F.

Dawn Flemming is Director of Business Services at Geriatric In-Home Care in Fresno, California.

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